the ape returns to his own jungle

it seems that even a place that is not your home can satisfy that desire for rootedness. i'd been on the road for nearly 4 weeks till yesterday. arriving in xining i felt the satisfaction of returning home. though i live in the guest bedroom of a friends apartment, when i stepped through the door i was relieved. back packs were flung on the floor and i was flung on the coach. home at last! now a few days to settle and back to business.

you all will be relieved to know that the updates will come more regularly now that i am not spending weeks at a time in a nomad tent. here are some pictures to peruse. a few short stories will follow in the coming days.

a small chapel in yushu. pilgrims light butter candles for the bodhisattva's. the light of the sun only shone through like this for about two minutes; i was lucky to catch it on film.

this foot bridge was used more by monks on motorcycles than pedestrians. at one point when i was walking across i had to avoid a gang of monks. monks would remind you of a gang more than you would realize.

this girl came running out to greet me and my two 11 year old, self appointed tour guides as we left the mountaintop monastery. i just love the way children photograph. their expressions are so real, and revealing of their naivete.

when classes let out the monks mill about like any college student would. they rib each other and harass the younger monks.

in terms of being photogenic, old women are only second to children. these women laughed at me as it took me 10 minutes to take this picture. chinese batteries have a life of maybe 20 pictures, but sometimes as few as only 1.

this was the first time i came across tibetan woodworkers. there were at least a dozen shops in a row where furniture was constructed from local trees. i was glad to see some tibetan skills still in the hands of the average joe. too many times these skills are lost in tibet because of the degradation of society and the environment.

weary from a week of nomad life i made the perfect subject for beard update 3.0. the setting for this picture is a dilapidated yak slaughter yard.

like i said, second only to young children. this woman asked to be photographed with stove. she had a nicer than average home.

this kettle comes with a story. my friends grandmother was boiling water to make milk tea for us, but her milk had gone bad. so she picked up the kettle bare handed and walked outside to pour the water/milk out. with only the slightest indication of discomfort she held the pot. my friend and i looked at each other and laughed, she laughed too.

this man was an unabashed starer, so i decided to snap a picture to turn the tables. it did not. he laughed, and my friend told him to stop acting rude. he reminded me of native americans that wore the coats of soldiers. in fact, the similarities between tibetans and native americans are many.